By Jacob Bogage
WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) – Individuals and corporations will be able to donate shares of stock to “Trump accounts,” the government-backed newborn investment accounts created as part of President Donald Trump’s landmark tax and immigration law, officials said Thursday.
The accounts are set to formally launch on Saturday to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary. The federal government will contribute $1,000 for every child born starting in 2025 through 2028, and some companies and philanthropists have made additional donations.
Contributors will be able to transfer publicly traded shares to the U.S. Treasury, the department said, and the stock “will be contributed to Trump Accounts for eligible children consistent with the donor’s instructions, applicable law, and Treasury guidance.”
“By accepting contributions of publicly traded stock, Treasury is creating a practical pathway for large-scale private giving to support the next generation,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Parents and guardians can create accounts by completing the one-page Internal Revenue Service “Form 4547” – named for Trump, the 45th and 47th president. The accounts are not automatically created by the government. The adult who opens one is responsible for setting it up and choosing how the money is invested while the child is still a minor.
The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced five investment funds in which account holders will be able to place the government’s initial cash contribution. The funds track the performance of some of the leading Wall Street indexes and are among the most widely traded exchange-traded funds by retail investors.
Trump holds between $7 million and $35.1 million in those same instruments, according to his annual financial disclosures. He purchased up to $21 million of the funds in 2025.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump’s investments in the funds did not represent a conflict of interest and “are in held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions.”
More than six million families have signed up for the accounts, the Treasury Department said, though only 1.4 million are eligible for the federal seed money, the agency previously reported.
That means the vast majority of account holders who opted into the program will gain tax advantages but will invest largely their own money.
Trump accounts receive less favorable tax treatment than other savings plans designed for young people, but have fewer restrictions on how the money can be used. The funds are not taxed until an account holder turns 18, but may face some state taxes.
(Reporting by Jacob Bogage;Editing by Dan Burns, Ross Colvin and Chizu Nomiyama)
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